h d r - t e s t 1

This technique has showed up during VCD 510 class. We were talking about a sketch problem for the cube project - apart from my graduation project- Ahmet Atıf Akın has suggested hdr for expressing the city area in different ways. I was supposed to shoot 6 different plans ; big city silhouttes with same horizons in three different exposures: -2 EV, 0 EV, 2EV

High dynamic range imaging (HDRI) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range of exposures (the range of values between light and dark areas) than normal digital imaging techniques.
so here is the result:

I am not very glad with the results by the way, have to work on tone mapping.I may come up with something better. So; coming soon...

k e y w o r d s

artificail visuality, manupulation, simulation, effecting the city's facts,
exaggerating (in comprehensible ways...) , urban puzzle, urban textures, reality and fiction, various, utopia

i n s p i r a t i o n s

My research has gone through in architects , – work about perceiving the city space in different ways- photographers – named as Post Doc. Photographers in the history of city photography- projects about city and art both in conceptual and practical ways.

Y o n a F r i e d m a n
Defends; flexible urban- architectural structurs .
According to his manifesto; “ L’ architecture Mobile” , his point of wiev to the city is ; interdiciplinary.






S p e c t a c u l a r C i t y E x h i b i t . , D u s s e l d o r f , 2 0 0 7


A n d r e a s G u r s k y






M i c h a e l W e s e l y / N Y - B e r l i n




O l i v i o B a r b i e r i
R o m e

s i e n n e

s i t e - s p e c i f i c w o r k

l . a.

All these photographs in this exhibition are between reality and fiction. The urban space can appear as a science fiction area, a made model, a sculpture.Worlds of puzzle..

C h a m p L i m b r e

Chamb Limbre is a foundation which exploring the process of creation and presentation about the relationships between architecture, public space and new media since 1992.
“İnvisible City / Cite İnvisible “ is a project of Chamb Limbre Foundation.

It is explained that: The city of the XXIst Century continuously undergoes major transformations of aesthetic, of its social structure .. This constant evolution of the city fascinates us by means of the wealth of the potential landscapes it presents. These landscapes, for Champ Libre, are places of philosophical and artistic inspiration.
The İnvisible city project feeds from this “being an inspiration “ situation of the landscape. Architecture, urban spaces and their relationships between the citizens are being expressed by different mediums in Grande Bibliothèque of the Quebec national library and archives.


C i r c u s - C o l l e c t i f f a c t
a v i d e o i n s t a l l a t i o n







“Circus” is a video project about construction of space . The location is a busy square in Geneva . The video work shows a constantly moving wiev of the city that seems to be disintegrating.

The project explains the urban architecture’s effect to the city area; as a non-linear perception with scanning of distinctive points of reference and landmarks and striking details. In other words: "simulation city"


“I l u m i n a c i o n e s U r b a n a s 1 “ (Urban İlluminations) - F r a n c i s N a r a n j o


http://francisnaranjo.blogspot.com/

Naranjo assimilates the “city” to “our biological system”. He says: “Our biological fluids seem to always find a different path in the vascular labyrinth of our bodies, just as our human and robotic neighbors seem to create a city distinct from our own city with every passing day. “
He uses the road network to represent the vascular system of our body.. Our body liquids flows from our vascular system; the cars, people and every element of the city flows from its networks..At this process nothing stays the same, every time this circle happens, it takes something from its own structure.

I n s o m n i a c c i t y - R a n S l a v i n


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWTvB0Daecs

INSOMNIAC CITY is a mutation of the experimental movie and black thriller, combining the digital interventions on documentary images. The location is Tel Aviv. The main character and the city suffer from a labyrinthic insomnia, from the shiny new towers to the poorest neignborhoods, from air to sea.
The city area is transplanted through both physical and mental scapes, between reality and dream, documentary and fiction , combined with a story about a man and the city itself. The chaos of urban texture, and frames from the man’ s insomnia..

t h e t h i r d p h a s e

... then ı came to the alternatives.
The first alternative to the " image of the city " idea was "space-network theory" ..

The network of a city can be defined both in physical and social ways.

Physically; networks flows in lots of layers in the city area.
Transportation networks, quarters, squaers, roads, streets creates networks in the city. Also; other layers , like; infrastructure networks, electricity, telecommunication , canalization systems defines different networks at diffferent layers in city...

Social communities, neighborhoods, people from different religions, ethnics, culture even tastes creates social networks - like family tree, but the social network theory this time-.

When talking about the city and the networks the definition of "city of bits " is unavoidable.
The invisible cities of the 21st. century; like W.J.Miitchell says in 'City of Bits: city, place and the infobahn' MIT Press '95...
We have to reimagine the architechture and urbanism.
As the networks grow at the internet and the worlds of computer; we have to make the redefinition of the space and also personal identity. Because there is no common spaces that people meet; agoras, there are electronic agoras where people meet. This social networks identifies new spaces new communities...

In the end: I've changed my mind about the idea of space and network - to use in another project, another time..:)

My last standing point for my project has appeared in this question:

" How the city space can be expressed ,what can make the city area inordinary to perceive..?"

So; my proposal has been shaped in a different way from the “unique” image / “uniqueness” of the city against the process of globalization..

I am thinking to take the city; as a material , as a “huge vitrine” which will also express too chaotic, too complexive situation – this “too” situation- of the city area ; even in very close distance ,( metres, minutes, seconds..) in real or fictional ways..

Concept : İstanbul : too variable
too chaotic
mass
multiple ; even in very close distances, the whole texture, the whole fabric of the city changes , transforms...

Staring from the opposite side to this situation of the city: City could be perceived in different ways by the audience; not only the real facts...

Criteria : Analyzing the issue in:

Space: The physical space of the city , every physical space elements, every urban architecture.
Person: Citizen's effect to the city area ; shaping the city area.

Purpose : "Perceiving, reading the city area with the created scenes"
Showing what' s real and beyond real at the city space in extraordinary ways.
The project is actually interrogates the real one and its assimilation at the city...

Method : Creating big panoramas, huge vitrines with different techniques.( it sounded like a poem btw)
different techniques of photography
different techniques of production
Photography can define even change , manupulate the character of urban space.
In that case, I have to overview some extraordinary techniques ..........

t h e s e c o n d p h a s e

The problem definition has been changed at that phase..A new concept has showed up;

g l o b a l i z a t i o n

I realy do not like to start every sentence with a "...in this term of globalization.." (!) but it is the situation that the whole world is in...

At this age of globalization ; every city, space even people started to look like the same.. We are talking about a world without the borders; t h e w o r l d c i t y . . .

At that point; talking about "uniqueness" against the global cities; is a bit of risky...

But the purpose of this thesis has been shaped like ; "Every city, country look like same according to globalization; but in spite of this global process, expressing city's own authentic image and unique features in visual vays..."

So the main problem turns to; "Do cities have their own images; are they unique in this age of globalization..? "

(If the problem defines like that; the study area; İstanbul ; fits this situation more..Because; İstanbul is a city;

-which is in the middle of modernism
-very open to what globalization brings

and also nominated as the cultural capital for 2010...
with every paradox in it..

The problem: This "being authentic, unique situation" in the city area..
How it is going to be decided? according to what?
whom?
where? ,
and here is the breaking point!!

t h e f i r s t p h a s e

The first phase of the project is the way that ı have submitted to the vcdmfa programme for the application..
I 'd like to emphasize some important points and keywords.

'The city is a scene'

'City gives inspiration for visual arts'

The project is feeding from 'these situations of the city'.

At that point; city becomes ' a material for visual comminucation'.

T h e i d e n t i t y / c h a r a c t e r ;
seperates a person or a place from the others..

"The identity does not mean equality, it means 'individualism' and ,'being unique' "
Kevin Lynch

İmage Concept: reflects that uniqueness, the authenticity..

People, managements, brands have their own images;

T h e q u e s t i o n : "Do cities have their own images? "

The purpose is to create the vitrines of the city which reflects its own authentic identity, image...

T h e m e n t a l m a p : The mental map(s) is the route of the project . The disricts, edges, landmarks, nodes that reflects this uniqueness and the image will be determined on that map..It is a visual map; it will be changed according to the forms of perceiving the space , during this process...

V i t r i n e : v i s u a l m e a n i n g

İ s t a n b u l : v a r i o u s m o s a i c
c o s m o p o l i t s o c i e t y ; that's why İstanbul is an appropriate example...

I'd rather use schemes for expressing...

The problem: The borders of the area / space that reflect the image of the city is not certain, not clear....

t h e m e t a m o r p h o s i s

m.c. escher " metamorphosis"

As the first term of the school is passing; lots of thoughts and concepts has been drifted at the moment. I must write them in case it is a very high chance that I might absolutely forget about them..(!)
The process has been shaped like a metamorphosis in my mind; a layer is coming, and than another and than a very different one on it..

I' ve seperated this process into 3 steps for now. The first one is the way that ı have submitted the proposal to the vcdmfa programme. At the second step; new definitions and also new questions , new problems have showed up; then ı have started to think about the ways, the methods for presantation and go through that way to the concept.. The third step is the alternatives in my mind; these can shape the project in very different ways..

Therefore; this project can go in a very different way, maybe too far to the first idea -according to the researches and the messes that I will be in.(!)- or can be smiliar to the first idea.

' s k e t c h o f t h e p r o c e s s '

l e t m e e x p l a i n . . .